Search This Blog

Summer reading

I normally associate summer reading with easy entertaining books. I don’t want anything to heavy, to sad, to ‘prise de tête’ (a French expression to say not too intellectual).

But I’m a bit disappointed with some of my choice this year.

NW – Zadie SmithThis one I loved. I did not take it seriously at first, but I think I’ll read it again, just to make sure I got all the little details. Zadie Smith is so good at capturing NW London.

Defending Jacob – William LandayI’ve seen a recommendation for this book in a blog. I love the blog, so I was quite confident that the recommendation was a good one. Unfortunately, this one falls on the BAD category. The starting point is quite interesting: is there such a thing as a killer gene and if yes, can you ‘fight’ it. However, the writing style let this book down as well as the fact that the subject is not treated in depth. My opinion might be a bit harsh, but I do have problem with teen books that treat our kids like simple minds who can’t understand sophisticated language. Mind you, I recently read a book review from a girl who thinks that words like "exacerbated" and "exorbitant" are clunky (BTW, I had to check clunky in the dictionary…)

Purple Hibiscus – Chimamanda Ngozi AdichieThis is another teen book, but what a difference, well written, funny, and confronts you to a totally different world, a different literature. For more, go to Good Reads.

The Racketeer – John GrishamI have a soft spot for John Grisham; some 20 years ago, when I started leaning English (school years don’t count), the first book I read was The Firm. I loved it: the chapters were short enough, the vocabulary was simple enough and the story was entertaining enough. I would not qualify Grisham as one of my favourite author, but he is always at the top of my list when I want some distraction. Well, well, well, I should have avoid this one, it has been a waste of time. This review sums it all: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/544640833. I’m not even sure I understood the plot.

On a side note, no crafting for me, our container is still on its way (almost 10 weeks!), I can’t wait…

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

It is not the first time that I sew a cover for my iron board, and each time I wonder why I did not do it earlier. It is such a easy project and it is so rewarding when the iron board look nice and neat.This time I have chosen Rifle Paper Co, City Maps canvas. I really like this print with all the different cities. It is a canvas and I like the stifness of it. I like my board to be bouncy so I put two layers of batting, secured them to the top with a zigzag stitch. The edge is finished with a double fold bias tape and an elastic tighten to fit the shape of the board. And voilà, ready for laundry day! Don’t you think a pretty cover makes ironing a bit more bearable?You can join me on May 5th, at 10:00 at The Sewing Studio in Maitland to learn how to make this cover. To register, just follow this link.I will give the same class at my home on June 15, 10am to 3pm. Leave me a comment shall you want more details.

I've just seen a new pattern - I really like it
I want to make it now
But
I won't have a chance to wear it
And I have enough projects already on my needles
Yes, but it's really pretty
Look how other people have made it
I'm sure I'll learn something new
And my friend wants to knit it too
Ok, yarn and pattern have been ordered
I can't wait
Yarn has arrived, it's so beautiful
Let's take some pictures for Instagram
I can't wait
Before I start let's swatch
Or I can wing it
No let's swatch first
Swatch is good, casting on
Frantic few days of knitting
One sleeve done, let's work on the second one
Feeling good, both sleeves finished
But the yarn is so thin, it's taking forever
Getting bored
I shouldn't have chosen this color
Am I knitting too tight
I'm bored
Meeting friend to keep motivation
Her project looks so much better
Have I pick the right size, I'm sure it's off
Le…

Last year, after a few SUP lessons with the Paddleboard Orlando, we decided to buy our own paddle boards. We felt confident enough to manoeuvre the board (honestly it’s not very challenging), we were reassured by our instructor that we had nothing to fear from the aligators (as long as we stay active). Since then we have a new Sunday morning ritual: after a late breakfast and after the New York Times has been read though and through, we put the board on the car and go for a long stroll on the lakes. We like looking at (and commenting) all the front-lake properties. But the best things are the encounters with the wildlife on the lakes: there’s a couple of pelicans flying very low above the water, there are several hawks nests with chicks, a few white herons. It is very pleasant and calming… until late morning when the boats and jet skis start appearing, making big waves, and then it’s more challenging to stand up paddle board, and it’s time to go home! Enough of my travel posts? I p…